Teaching Translation from English into Italian as a Purposeful Activity in the Language Classroom: An Empirical Study

This article discusses the ways in which pedagogical translation into Italian can be a valuable tool in enhancing the students’ proficiency, thus contributing to the still underdeveloped research on effective translation teaching practices in the Italian language classroom. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to Italian teaching and based on empirical data collected from translation into Italian workshops delivered to undergraduate Modern Languages students at the University of Hull (UK), this article examines the ways in which drawing on translation studies teaching models can help students to enhance their communicative language competences. Particular attention is paid to pragmatic, sociolinguistic and pluricultural competences, which are crucial in the formation of future language professionals as cultural mediators. More specifically, the discussion consists of the evaluation of two interrelated translation teaching models (Nord 1991/2005, 1997a/2018; Malmkjær 1998) based on a qualitative analysis of the students’ reflections through the lens of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) competence model. The results indicate that drawing on translation studies teaching models can help to teach translation into Italian (which is usually perceived challenging by students) as a purposeful activity, thus enhancing the learners’ communicative ability in real life, as recommended by the CEFR.